Sleep Tight

My wife is a childbirth educator; she teaches new parents how to look after their babies. And guess what? Babies have to be taught how to sleep. Or more correctly, how to fall asleep, stay asleep and develop a sleep pattern. Seems amazing doesn’t it?

The Chicken or the Egg?
Many adults also have trouble getting to sleep and staying that way, and often enough it can be linked to depression. It’s the chicken or the egg thing here. Which came first, the depression or the sleep disorder? The answer can be hard to figure out, since the relationship between them will be different for each individual. For some the sleep disorder will be a cause of depression, for others it will be a symptom, for others still it will be both.

It’s a fact that most people with depression also have insomnia or at least some kind of sleep disturbance. This can take shape as difficulty in getting to sleep, waking early and not getting back to sleep, frequently waking during the night, or poor quality sleep. All of these can affect a person’s ability to function well on the following day, with common problems like:

• Tiredness
• Irritability
• Poor concentration
• Worse mood
• Increased susceptibility to illness.

Tips for dealing with sleeping problems
There is a great fact sheet on the Beyond Blue website that gives some useful tips:

• Wake at a regular time and do something outside pretty much straight away. The light of day is a cue to the brain to wake up.

• Be physically active during the day. Exercise is a great help, although it stimulates your body so not just before you go to bed.

• If there are issues that you stew over in bed then solve them during the day.

• Don’t drink coffee or other caffeinated drinks after about 4pm. Limit your caffeinated drinks to 2 a day.

• Your bed should be for sleep and sex only. Whatever you do, don’t work in your bedroom!

Some other things that I’ve found helpful

• Having a clean & comfortable bed
• Turning the lights off and using candlelight for the last hour or so before bedtime
• Keeping bed clothes to a comfortable minimum so I don’t end up hot.

I take sleep medication occasionally if my insomnia is out of control. I realize this is a stumbling block for some, because such medicine can be addictive. But it’s better for me to at least get some sleep and stay well, than risk being tipped over into a more serious depressive episode. It’s something that works for me.

Tags: drink coffee, insomnia, sleep disorder, sleep disturbance, sleeping problems, tiredness